Things Overheard
by NevynR
Summary: The gang overhear Castle and Beckett's comments on the weekend's activities. A simple little one-shot, set  probably  anywhere in the middle of Season 3. No Josh.


**Title:**** Things Overheard.**

**Rating:**** T (suggestive themes****). ****English - Humour/Romance - Kate B. & Rick C**

**Summary:****The gang overhear Castle and Beckett's comments on the weekend's activities. A simple little one-shot, set (probably) anywhere in the middle of Season 3 no Josh..**

**Disclaimer:**** all the usual. I don't own Castle, etc etc.**

**Author's Note:**** Ok folks, this is the first fic I have written in probably ten years, and my first Castle one… I have no idea why, but I woke up with pretty much the whole story in my head as it is written. Depending on how the muse goes, I may end up writing more. Feedback welcomed!**

**NevynR.**

* * *

><p><strong>9:00am Monday, 12<strong>**th**** Precinct.**

Walking out of the elevator, Beckett walked over to her desk and sat down, waving a casual hello to Ryan and Esposito. Logging in to her computer, she had time to check her inbox before Castle strolled in, coffee and breakfast in hand.

Passing over her coffee and sitting down, he grinned cheekily at her. "Morning Beckett… It's gone 9am already, and no dead bodies yet. How come?" Sipping her coffee, Beckett leaned back in her chair, enjoying the flavour for a second, before replying.

"Must have done something right, something's usually come up by now." Handing her bear-claw over, Castle shook his head ruefully, wondering how long the peace and quiet could last on a Monday morning.

Seeing nothing requiring her immediate attention amongst her emails, Beckett turned back to look at her partner, and finished a mouthful of food. A small smile lit up her face as she spoke. "Oh, by the way, I just thought I'd say thanks for yesterday, Castle… I haven't done that in years, I think I had almost forgotten what it felt like."

"You are more that welcome. I thought you could do with a change of scenery, which is why I dragged you along." Neither of them noticed Esposito walking past them, on the way to the break room to grab coffee, his jaw dropping slightly as he overheard their banter. Making his way back to his desk, he sat down and nudged Ryan.

"Hey, bro… you'll never guess what I just heard!" Putting down some paperwork, Ryan swung around and looked at him, puzzled. Still looking a bit dumbfounded, Esposito continued.

"You didn't happen to hear what Beckett and Castle got up to on the weekend, did you?"

"Um… Neither of them mentioned any plans on Friday, haven't had a chance to catch up with either this morning. Why? You hear something?"

"Just that they were doing something yesterday. All I got was that they did something she hasn't done in ages, and had almost forgotten about. I was hoping you'd have more of an idea."

"Not me, but now you got me wishing I did…"

"You don't think they…" he trailed off, looking at each other in silence for a few seconds before glancing over at the others, who were unaware of their scrutiny. Beckett was typing on the computer again, and Castle was playing with his phone, both pictures of innocence and normalcy.

"Nah, surely not" The boys said in unison.

* * *

><p><strong>11:15am Tuesday, Murder scene.<strong>

Standing in the hallway outside the victim's apartment, Beckett looked at the others, a small frown creasing her forehead.

"Ryan, I need you to run phone records for both the land line and her cell. Esposito, can you chase financials for me? See if anything pops. Castle and I will talk to the neighbours and see if they heard anything."

Ryan nodded, already jotting in his notebook, while Esposito responded.

"You got it. Given the male clothing etcetera inside, you want me to see if I can find the boyfriend as well?"

"If you can, yeah. If you are done inside before we get this floor covered, see if the doorman can give us anything to work with. This looks a little too personal for a break-in gone wrong. Call me as soon as Lanie can get me a time of death."

Glancing up and down the hall once more, Beckett and Castle began the slow process of working their way through the onlookers, only some of whom actually had any business being there.

Half an hour later, and they were finishing up with the last of the tenants on their floor, when Beckett's cell buzzed. Checking the message, she looked at Castle.

"Ok, Castle" she said. "Lanie's given us a probable time of death between 1:00 and 4:00 last night. We're done here; let's head back to the apartment and see if there is anything else she can give us."

Slipping her cell back into her pocket, she lead the way up the hall. Briefly distracted from the case, she looked amused as she quipped to her partner,

"So Castle, how many did you say on Sunday?" Shaking his head ruefully, Castle thought for half a second before replying.

"Oh, maybe half a dozen or so..."

"I guess I shouldn't be surprised, really, after seeing you with Alexis. You're a great dad."

"Thanks Beckett. You weren't so bad yourself, you know... maybe you'll get used to it, with a bit of practice."

Neither of them paid much attention to the fact that they had stopped just outside the door to the victim's apartment, nor that their resident M.E. was standing open-mouthed in the doorway, frantically running the last few sentences that she had heard through her mind.

"_Beckett, did you just say what I thought you did, girl? And to Castle, no less!" _Shaking her head to dislodge the thought she raised an eyebrow at her best friend, thinking "_And you had best be spilling the beans as soon as Writer-Boy is out of earshot, or else..." _Interrupting their discussion, she spoke authoritatively.

"Ok, you two. I can't get you a narrower window for the time of death, but I can tell you why she died. Blunt force trauma to the back of her head, I'd bet the corner of the coffee table. There are signs that she may have had her drink spiked, but probably not enough to do much more than make her dizzy and probably loud. I won't know much more until I can pump her stomach. I'll get CSU to check the apartment for traces of the usual date-rape drugs, but given I can't see an empty bottle, or dirty glasses in the kitchen, I am betting it didn't happen here. I can also tell you that she wouldn't have gone quietly."

Leading them over to the body, she indicated the bruising on the victim's knuckles, explaining. "You don't get this kind of bruising from an uncontrolled flailing of the arms about. This level of trauma you only get from repeated contact with something hard, like a head, and I'd say she got in a few good shots. Both hands have similar trauma."

Reaching down to open the victim's half-clenched fists, Beckett ran her thumb over the first two knuckles, noting the way they showed much more damage than the other two. She spoke quietly,

"She knew what she was doing... Most people tend to throw haymakers if they are caught by surprise, and you get busted ring and little fingers. The bruising tells us that she knew how to throw a punch properly, and still did it when she was drugged. Whoever attacked her, I doubt he's feeling terribly healthy right now." Standing up, she addressed Castle and Lanie.

"If we're done here, Castle and I will contact the local emergency departments; see if any males have been admitted in the last ten hours with head injuries consistent with what our victim dished out." Castle stepped back from the doorframe, and gestured for Beckett to lead the way. As they turned to leave, Lanie called out to Beckett,

"Oh, and Beckett? I'll call you when we get a break; we have some talking to do..."

* * *

><p><strong>7:00pm Tuesday, 12<strong>**th**** Precinct break room.**

Closing the door behind her, Lanie turned to her friend, her expression determined.

"So, you wanna give me an explanation for what you and Castle were discussing back at the apartment? Or do I have to tie you down and drug you to get it out of you?"

Looking dumbfounded, Beckett blushed slightly as she crossed her arms.

"I... I just saw a side of Castle on the weekend that I never expected, Lanie" Eyebrows still raised, Lanie crossed her arms and began tapping her foot.

"And since when do you spend time with Castle on the weekends, without telling me all about it?" Beckett grinned at the nosiness of her friend, still feeling like she shouldn't be sharing the details of what they were up to with Lanie just yet. She wasn't sure how Castle would react; he could be funny about things like that at times.

"He had... something planned, and at the last minute, called me up, and asked me if I would like to join him. He didn't give me a lot of detail, but what he _did_ tell me was just enough to make me curious, so I took him up on the offer." Chucking softly, she continued. "If Castle wants to tell you what we got up to, I'm sure he will, but until he does, I think he'd prefer it kept under wraps for the moment, Lanie."

* * *

><p><strong>8:45am Wednesday, 12<strong>**th**** Precinct.**

The bullpit was busy, phones ringing, suspects being lead into interrogation rooms, and both Ryan and Esposito were trying to look like they were working. Quietly talking under their breath, they discussed the most pressing news of the week: Beckett and Castle, and what had happened on the weekend.

"So, you hear anything else yet?" Ryan asked, glancing up every few seconds to keep an eye on Beckett, who was glaring stubbornly at the murder board. A confused expression on his face, Esposito replied.

"Well, Lanie mentioned that she had had a 'talk' with Beckett last night, and couldn't get much out of her at all. I think the only reason I even heard about it was that she was so irritated at being given the brush-off by Beckett that I overheard her muttering about it." Taking out a random file he flicked through the papers inside, and went on. "All she told me was that he rang her, she got curious and went, and he, or both of them, wants whatever it is kept under wraps for the moment..." Ryan put down his coffee and turned to face Esposito. Pinching the bridge of his nose, he wondered aloud.

"Maybe we were wrong Monday morning... Maybe they really...?"

"Hmmm... I think I might ask around and see what the odds are in the betting pool this week, bro. I don't know how much any of the others have noticed this week, and if we're right, maybe we could clean up." They both grinned mischeviously as they contemplated scooping the pool.

Moments later, Castle exited the elevator, making his way over to Beckett's desk, coffee in hand. Passing hers over, he sat down, his face less chipper than usual, but the ghost of a grin on his lips. Beckett wrapped her hands around the warm coffee, inhaling deeply. Surprised, she looked at her partner.

"Hey, Castle, what's with the coffee this morning? It's different somehow..." He met her gaze, a small smile appearing as she sipped it cautiously. A happy noise escaped her mouth before she took a larger mouthful, closing her eyes briefly as she savoured the taste.

"Consider it bribery-in-advance..." Castle said, watching her enjoy the spicy cinnamon coffee. "I thought you could do with a change." As his words sank in, Beckett put the cup down on the desk, giving him her full attention, a frown forming.

"Castle, I am giving you about ten seconds to explain exactly why it is that you felt the need to pre-emptively bribe me with delicious coffee. Your time starts... now."

"We might have a small problem... with Sunday" He said, wincing slightly as he saw her frown deepen. "It seems as though we were seen... and that someone had a camera." Beckett's eyes flashed angrily at him as she started to rise from her chair.

"Richard Castle, if you..." He cut her off, before she had a chance to work herself up any further.

"Beckett, hear me out, please?" She settled back down, arms crossed as she gave him one of her best I-am-going-to-kill-you looks. He drew a breath and went on. "I know you probably aren't exactly thrilled about the idea, but I am fairly sure I can stop it going public, but for both out sake's, we'd better hope like hell my publicist doesn't get hold of it." He grimaced, imagining the shreds Gina would tear off him if she saw it before he had a chance to explain. "Trust me, Kate, I'll make sure it's ok." He didn't seem to realise that he had inadvertently used her given name, and caught up in the situation, neither did she.

A few desks over, Ryan and Esposito glanced at each other for a second, before grinning madly, standing up, and going to see a man about a wager.

* * *

><p><strong>1:00pm Wednesday, 12<strong>**th**** Precinct.**

The elevator doors opened, and Beckett and Castle walked out. They had just stepped out to grab a bite of lunch, and continued their conversation as they made their way from the elevator to Beckett's desk.

"…and little castles all over the place!" Beckett chuckled as she remembered Sunday afternoon. "Richard Castle, sometimes you surprise the hell out of me." A self-deprecating grin appeared as he quipped back,

"Well, Detective, sometimes you find out all sorts of interesting things, if you just ask the right questions. It's not like I haven't been through it all before, you know?"

At this, Ryan and Esposito exchanged a long look, before Esposito stood up quickly, saying "Hey, Ryan, didn't we have to cross-check something with Doc Parish when she got back from lunch?"

Glancing over to Beckett and Castle, Ryan grabbed his jacket and lead the way out. "Yeah, I think we need to run a few alibis while we are at it…"

* * *

><p><strong>4:30pm Wednesday, 12<strong>**th**** Precinct.**

Castle sat next to Beckett's desk, playing with his phone as she finished up making some notes. Seconds later, a startled laugh burst from him as he checked his inbox. Looking over at the sudden humour coming from her partner, Beckett asked,

"What's so funny, Castle?" A big smile on his face, Castle held up a finger to silence her for a second, as he scrolled through the rest of the message, and then saw the attachment. As he opened it, Beckett saw his jaw drop and him sit in stunned silence for several seconds. "Castle? Are you ok?"

Blinking rapidly a few times, he met her eyes across the desk. "I am fine, Beckett. Better than fine, actually. Can you excuse me for a few minutes? There's something I need to collect outside."

Puzzled, she replied "Sure, Castle. Are you sure you are ok?" Putting his phone in his pocket, he stood up and headed towards the elevator, calling out on his way. "Yeah, Alexis just said there was something she wanted to drop off. School project, and wants a second opinion."

A couple of minutes later, he returned, an A4 yellow envelope in his hands. Sitting back down, he answered Beckett's silent question. "You remember our conversation this morning, and the camera?"

"Yes. What has happened now?" She said suspiciously.

"It's Alexis."

"What?" Beckett looked confused by the apparent shift in topic.

"The photographer... it was Alexis. I knew she was going to be away for the weekend, she usually does if Mother has something on, and I am going out of town. Her and Ashley went to the beach... they just happened to pick the same one we were at."

"So you didn't know she was going to be there?"

"Nope, and she has been giving me funny looks the last few days, so I thought something might have been up, but not _this_."

"What 'this' are you talking about, Castle?" Wordlessly, he handed her the envelope, his jacket knocking some pens onto the floor as he did so. He quickly bent down to retrieve them as with some trepidation, Beckett removed the picture. As her eyes fell on the image, she sat back in her chair, as stunned as he had been, her hands dropping un-noticed into her lap as she looked at it.

"Oh, Castle, it's beautiful!"

Their timing perfect, Lanie, Esposito and Ryan left the break room, and were walking down the hall as Castle straightened up from collecting the pens off the floor. All three of them gawped as their minds frantically processed what they saw: Castle, kneeling in front of Beckett, with the sound of her words still hanging in the air.

* * *

><p><strong>6:00pm Wednesday, The Old Haunt<strong>

Castle and Beckett arrived first, wandering over to their usual booth and sitting down as the observant staff have their regular drinks sent over. Barely minutes later, Ryan, Esposito and Lanie entered and sat down. As they slid into place, Beckett raised her glass and took a long drink. Noticing the way that Lanie followed the movement of her hand, she paused, and looked at Ryan and Esposito, only to see them doing exactly the same thing.

Somewhat confused, she looked at her left hand, still holding the glass up to her lips, and looked back at them. Finishing her mouthful, she glanced over at Castle, who had noted the odd look as well, and was looking extremely puzzled.

"Uh, guys..." She said. "What are you all looking at?" Lanie raised her eyebrows, and crossed her arms.

"Girl, we were hoping to see the ring!"

Gob-smacked, Beckett looked at Castle, confusion evident on both their faces. "Lanie, what on earth are you talking about?" Castle's voice came out strangled, his eyes darting from her to Beckett and back rapidly, a flush creeping up his face.

"Did you, or did you not propose this afternoon in the precinct?" Her rock-solid confidence showing sings of cracking, Lanie looked once more at Beckett's ring finger, before continuing. "With the way you two have been acting the last couple of days, we all knew something was up, but _that_ one came outta left field, I gotta say..."

"What!" Beckett's voice climbed in pitch as what her friend was suggesting hit home. "What on earth gave you that idea, Lanie? And more to the point, what do you mean by 'how you two have been acting', exactly?"

"Well," Lanie muttered, now confused. "It started when Castle here brought you your coffee on Monday..." She looked over at Ryan and Esposito, and indicated that they should continue.

"He sat down, did the usual, and then you mentioned... what happened on the weekend" Ryan said, a hint of a blush staining his cheeks. "We all figured that you guys had finally gotten around to... well... you know..." Somewhat embarrassed, he went on. "You guys were pretty much normal, well normal for you two anyway, until the call-out Tuesday. Esposito and I thought we might have gotten the wrong end of the stick, especially since Lanie hadn't heard anything about it from Beckett." He took a long drink, and nodded to Lanie, who resumed the tale.

"I had just let you guys know about the time of death, and I heard you two coming down the hall. I know you two are pretty dense when it comes to some things, but when I heard you discussing kids, I nearly fell over!"

"Kids!" Castle and Beckett exclaimed, their jaws dropping.

"Well, that's what is damn well sounded like to me, Writer-Boy"

"But..." He went to reply, but was cut off, and Lanie steam-rollered clean over the top of him. "Nothing like jumping in the deep end for you, is there? Anyway, when I asked her about it, she gave me absolutely nothing! Some BS about 'seeing another side of you' and 'wanting to keep it under wraps'. I figured she'd spill the beans eventually, maybe just needed a bit more time to wrap her head around the idea of you guys..."

"Then there was the thing with the reporter..." Esposito chipped in. "It's odd enough for Castle to bring you anything other than your usual, so when the two of you were muttering away about 'bribery in advance', and the like, we figured something bad had happened. When Castle mentioned his ex-wife finding out about it, and being pissed big-time, we thought maybe you guys had... behaved irresponsibly... in public, and somebody got a shot. We even had a look at Page 6, and the usual gossip columns etc to see if it had leaked already..." Looking puzzled, he swallowed a mouthful of drink. "By now, we knew _something_ was up, so we paid even more attention to what you guys were doing. Remember Wednesday morning, as you guys walked in? 'Little Castles all over the place' was the term you use used, from memory..." Their jaws practically hitting the table, Beckett and Castle could do nothing but sit and stare as their activities were meticulously recounted by the other detectives. "And then there was the talk about how good Beckett would be with your future offspring, which seems list a little bit rushed to me, doesn't it?"

"The final straw was this afternoon." Lanie butted in, a silly grin on her face. "I mean, when Ryan proposed to Jenny in front of us all, we thought we'd seen the last of the workplace propositions for a good long while yet, but you two! Kate, I don't think I've _ever_ seen you go from cranky to that damn soft and happy that fast. So, now you two know why we want to see the ring. You gonna spill the juicy details, or what...?" Silence reigned for several seconds as Beckett looked at Castle, their minds in synch, running over what they had just been told, and fitting that around what they knew had happened, before they both burst out laughing. Ignoring the startled looks from the other three, they laughed like crazy. Every time it seemed as though they had regained some measure of composure, they caught each other's eyes, and lost it all over again.

Finally, they managed to settle themselves down. Castle glanced over to Beckett quickly, a grin still plastered on his face as he began the explanation. "You guys are so far off base with this one I couldn't have written it any better myself! Lanie, Kate was simply protecting my reputation when she gave you the brush-off about the weekend." Lanie's eyebrows shot up and she exclaimed, not missing his casual use of Beckett's given name, "_Your_ reputation? If those pictures get out, it's hers I am worried about!" Chuckling again, Castle ignored her interruption.

"Yes, my reputation. A couple of times a year, I like to... help out. Not in a big, public way, just, you know... making things a bit better for people. I do little things, like anonymously fund a soup kitchen in the Bronx, that kinda thing. For the last half-dozen years or so, I have been dressing down, and taking a bunch of kids from a local foster home out on trips to Long Beach a couple of weekends every summer, when I'm not in the Hamptons. The kids have had it bad, I know kinda what it's like to be uprooted and shifted around on a regular basis as a kid, and I asked a friend of mine in Child Services, and found a couple of kids that have had a pretty rough time of it, thought I'd do something just to let them know it wasn't all bad. I don't tell Gina about it, because it doesn't exactly fit the whole Millionaire Playboy image, and if she's concerned about anything, it's my reputation, and the pay checks it brings.

After our last couple of cases, I thought Beckett could really do with a change of air. I called her up Sunday morning and asked her if she wanted to come along. After assuring her that it wasn't just another plan to get her into a swimsuit, and she actually went behind my back to ask Alexis if it was on the level, she agreed to come. I had arranged for the kids to be collected, and they met us there. We went to the beach, nothing more sinister than that, guys." He knocked his drink back in one mouthful. Beckett chipped in,

"That was what you overheard Monday morning... me thanking Castle for a relaxing afternoon, out of the city, and just enjoying the fresh air and sunshine. _Not_... what you guys were thinking!"

"Things went a little bit pear-shaped on Tuesday," Castle went on. "Alexis told me last week that she and Ashley were heading out to get some material for one of her art projects that weekend, and it turns out that while we were out, they figured they'd get their material at the beach. She's the one who had the camera, not some nosy paparazzi with a long lens. She had the pictures developed that night and texted me when she had picked them up. She wanted us to see them, so she dropped a copy off this afternoon. _That_ was what Beckett was looking at, guys... not a ring. I knocked some pens off her desk as I passed the folder over, which is why I was on my knee down there!"

Still seeing the disbelief on their friends' faces, Beckett pulled out their trump card: the envelope itself. Opening it, she slid the picture onto the table with a smile. Their eyes immediately fell to the image in front of them as a stunned silence fell over the group.

The picture was done in black and white, and showed Castle, in a pair of board-shorts and a massive smile on his face, running. The object of his chase was Beckett, in stunning one-piece, just out of reach. Her long hair whipping in the wind as she ran along a beach, dotted with sand castles, looking back over her shoulder, her mouth open as she laughed, plastic bucket and spade in her hands. It was such a stunning, clear slice of time, frozen for ever by the camera: an instant where anyone looking at it could see the sheer joy in their faces, all their worries far from their thoughts as they simply let go, and enjoyed the moment for what it was.

Lanie, Esposito and Ryan all looked at the picture for nearly a minute, captivated, before Lanie broke the spell. "So... no ring, and you two say there is _nothing_ going on between you? Good God, you two, wake up and smell the sun bloc!"

Distracted by the picture, none of them saw Kate's hand slip sideways to grasp Richard's, under the table. Giving a gentle squeeze, they shared a private smile, their secret safe for the moment.


End file.
